Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese took the WNBA by storm in 2024. Paige Bueckers is preparing to do the same as the Dallas Wings’ No. 1 overall draft pick this spring.
And they’re all chasing A’ja Wilson, whose three league MVP awards in the past five seasons have established her as the best player in women’s basketball.
Going beyond the surface-level headlines shows a league not only rich in talent but also teeming with storylines, from greats in new environs to an intriguing rookie from overseas.
Before the 2025 WNBA season tips off Friday, here are five players to know not named Caitlin, Paige, Angel or A’ja:
DeWanna Bonner, Indiana Fever
The Fever brought in a slew of veteran players to put around Clark and Aliyah Boston, none with a more impressive resume than Bonner. Will she provide the veteran voice this team needs? Bonner, a six-time All-Star, is also in range of some impressive career milestones as she embarks on her 16th WNBA season. She is seven points away from passing Tina Thompson for third on the league’s all-time scoring list; she’ll also pass Thompson for eighth in rebounds by grabbing just four more boards. Bonner is a two-time WNBA champion with Phoenix and is aiming for a third title.
Brittney Griner, Atlanta Dream
It will be strange for fans of the league to see Griner wear something other than a Phoenix Mercury jersey in 2025. It was not an easy call for the nine-time All-Star to make. “You’re leaving what you know, what I’ve known for my whole career,” she said on social media earlier this year. “But there’s also the exciting factor of like, ‘OK, this is a rebrand now. I get to show them something different.'” Griner appeared to be in top form when she put up a double-double in her first preseason game with Atlanta before resting for most of the second contest.
Tiffany Hayes, Golden State Valkyries
The WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year in 2024 will almost certainly be a starter and a go-to scorer for the Valkyries. Hayes was not an expansion draft pick but rather signed as a free agent from the Las Vegas Aces, and with 350 WNBA games under her belt, she is easily the most experienced player on Golden State’s inaugural roster. A career 13.2 ppg scorer who shot 40.2 percent from the arc last year, Hayes is a guard who will need to help the Valkyries figure out how their starting five fits together.
Dominique Malonga, Seattle Storm
Bueckers is the star of her draft class, but the No. 2 overall pick enters the league with a dose of mystique. A 6-foot-6 center, Malonga can dunk; she did so in a EuroCup game for her French team last season and she did so again at Storm practice this month. It’s too soon to tell whether she will pull out the move this year and become the ninth player in league history to dunk in a regular-season game. It takes more than dunking to become a good WNBA player, but as Seattle retools, Malonga could spearhead a tough frontcourt that features 6-foot-4 Ezi Magbegor, 6-foot-7 Li Yueru and star power forward Nneka Ogwumike.
Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
Collier has been an All-Star selection four times in six WNBA seasons, but 2024 felt like the year she stated her case to be mentioned in the same breath as Breanna Stewart and Wilson as the best in the league. She won Defensive Player of the Year and finished runner-up in the MVP race after pairing 20.4 points per game with 9.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per contest. She led Minnesota to its surprise Commissioner’s Cup win and WNBA Finals appearance. On top of all this, Collier is a vice president of the players union and emerging as a leading voice in collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
–Field Level Media
